WRAPUP 2-Suicide bombers kill 7 after Obama leaves Afghan capital

May 02, 2012|Reuters

"Not only were we able to drive al Qaeda out of Afghanistan,but slowly and systematically we have been able to decimate theranks of al Qaeda, and a year ago we were able to finally bringOsama bin Laden to justice," Obama said to cheers.

But even as he asserted in his speech that there was a"clear path" to fulfilling the U.S. mission in Afghanistan andmade his strongest claim yet that the defeat of al Qaeda was"within reach", he warned of further hardship ahead.

"I recognize that many Americans are tired of war ... But wemust finish the job we started in Afghanistan and end this warresponsibly," he said at Bagram airbase, where only months agothousands of Afghans rioted after U.S troops accidentally burnedcopies of the Koran, the Muslim holy book.

That incident, and the killing of 17 Afghan civilians by arogue U.S. soldier weeks later, plunged already tense relationsto their lowest point in years.

While speaking in broad terms of "difficult days ahead",Obama did not address some of the thorniest challenges.

These include corruption in Karzai's government, theunsteadiness of Afghan forces in the face of a resilient Talibaninsurgency, and Washington's strained ties with Pakistan, whereU.S. officials see selective cooperation in cracking down onmilitants fuelling cross-border violence.

Earlier, Obama met Karzai at his walled garden palace inKabul, where they signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement."By signing this document, we close the last 10 years and open anew season of equal relations," Karzai said after the meeting.

The agreement does not specify whether a reduced number ofU.S. troops, possibly special forces, and advisers will remainafter NATO's 2014 withdrawal deadline. That will be dealt within a separate status-of-forces agreement still being worked out.